There are times when we stand alone as individual communities’ and there are times when we stand together as a region or part of something more.

The reason I know this is because there are all the obvious things; like passing ordinances, raising and collecting taxes, and creating budgets that get done as a singular community. But there are times when we join with our neighboring communities’ to do something larger, something bigger than just our individual selves.

If you’re in doubt on that point, consider the following; the Bridgeton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Bridgeton Amish Market, the Bridgeton Area Police Athletic League to name a few. These are all endeavors and undertakings that are identified with more than one community.

There are other less visible things, like the donations we’ve received from our neighbors in some of the surrounding townships for the fireworks display in July and the many township visitors who invest in the Bridgeton Invitational Baseball Tournament or similar activities and events in our community.

And but for our own Green Acres project set in motion for the City Park, there was the prospect of a joint grant application with Hopewell, and Bridgeton teaming up to do some vital open space and recreation development, which would have held benefits for both communities. My hope is to explore these same joint ventures in the future.

There is solid ground for this type of collaboration in light of the various Bridgeton-related organizations being manned entirely by residents beyond our immediate borders, all for the good of the city. In my inaugural remarks in 2010, I alluded to the fact that we can only reach our full potential by helping others reach theirs. This remains the case today.

But what I have come to appreciate most about our neighboring townships and what I think deserves our utmost attention is the full-blown potential we have “together” on the western side of Cumberland County. I’ve talked at length about a “West Cumberland Library Branch” as an alternative and we also look forward to the possibility of some Cumberland & Salem Workforce Education Alliance or “WEA” programming to serve western Cumberland County and parts of Salem County.

Many times we can do more together than we can do isolated and on our own. For better or worse, we are connected in so many ways. Maybe it starts with a name or a title to a venue or a program, and though a small thing, it’s something that binds us and forms a common perception, a shared identity.

It’s a start and it’s something to build on. There are shared services agreements on a number of fronts and mutual aid agreements with our first responders. These too are building blocks and if we can succeed there, we can reach for more.

I guess my point is to really thank our neighbors for identifying some of their venues and initiatives with Bridgeton, but more importantly to extend an invitation to all neighboring townships to explore a “regional” or collective approach to improving our respective communities in creative ways wherever we can.

In the end, we’re bound by our shared geography, our resources, our limitations and our potential. From a common workforce and our transportation and infrastructure challenges, to the health of our waterways and how we’re perceived by Trenton, we have more in common than we might suspect.

As we strive to grow and improve the quality of life for our citizens in a shrinking economy, and as we’re asked to do more with less by state government; joining together is a good first place to start; for as it was once said to a small group in the ancient town of Philippi by a man named Paul; “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

Albert B. Kelly is mayor of Bridgeton. Contact him by phone at 856-455-3230, ext. 200. His column appears each Monday in The News.